Riding And My Mom
I have to thank my Mom publicly for the wonderful job she has done recounting my six Olympics from her perspective. Reading about Athens, I had forgotten so many of the little details which took place within the day-to-day goings-on of our lives, but my Mom brought them back to me…..and in living colour! So, THANKS MOM and I Love You!
Most of my riders have gone on mini-vacations so I’ve been hard at work, riding their horses daily since gettng back from the hospital where Guenter is making amazing progress. Today, not only did he walk up and down the halls with his therapist, he actually began climbing steps! It takes a lot of upper body strength, especially in the arms, to go up and down steps without using your legs. But our Olympian did not become who he is without the fantastic determination and will to succeed in everything, this included. I believe the hardest thing will be preventing him from pushing himself too hard every day. It may require drugs. 
Anyway, I have to say that I so enjoy getting to ride such great horses as those on my squad. Each is extremely different from the others and requires a very distinct style to produce the best possible results, very much like with people. Anton is a lot like riding Kennedy in personality and athleticism. He is a blast! Pikardi is one of the strongest willed horses I have ever met. You have to make him believe that everything is his idea and then he is so proud to show you how talented he is and how well he can go. Pop Art is simply a genius. He knows exactly who he is and that he is loved and appreciated for everything he does every day of his life. Pfallstaff is unbelieveably sweet as well and truly never wants to put a foot out of place. He absolutley does not ever want to be in trouble and goes to any extent to please his rider day after day. And Ayscha is a fabulous budding star and a lady and wants to be treated as such. When you feel her tremendous scope, you know immediately you are on a world-class horse. On Friday, I leave for home and New York for 10 days. It will be strange to be away from my “children”, but I think it will be good for us all in the end. When I return, we will do a schooling show as preparation and then Aachen, here we come!
Cheers!
RD
Janelle — June 23, 2010 @ 6:40 pm
Have you thought about writing a book? It would be fascinating to hear you talk about your training methods as they are applied in different situations with very different types of horses and personalities, kind of like what you alluded to here.
Enjoy your time in NYC - it’s been in the 80’s in the city this week, but really humid!!! I feel like I’m ready for a shower merely from walking outside to go to Starbucks…
Gay Walker — June 29, 2010 @ 4:19 pm
I love hearing you talk about your horses this way. They’re all unique, aren’t they, and understanding that makes all the difference in the world.